New citizens: A fresh perspective on U.S.

As Independence Day celebrates how the United States declared freedom for itself in 1776, the nation so far this year has welcomed more than half a million new citizens who will help guide its future.

More than 1,200 people from 80-plus countries gathered at the Anaheim Convention Center last week to take the Oath of Allegiance, the final step toward becoming a naturalized citizen. On the same day, the U.S. Senate passed an immigration reform bill.

The Department of Homeland Security says the number of U.S. naturalizations rose to 757,434 in 2012 from 694,193 in 2011. Louis DeSipio, a political science professor at UC Irvine who specializes in immigration and naturalization, said this number tends to rise during election years because presidential elections motivate more permanent residents to naturalize so they can vote.

Even factoring out the election-year momentum, "immigration policy is much more in the public debate today than it was 20 years ago," he said.

"As a result, I think that immigrants probably a little earlier on come to recognize that they want to have a political voice in the United States," DeSipio said.

Joyce Noche, supervising attorney of Asian American Advancing Justice Los Angeles. said the number of citizenship applications may rise again this year, "because the discussion on immigration reform has some uncertainty."

"There will be folks who will go forth on the citizenship process in order to preserve their family members' ability to come to the United States," Noche said.

DeSipio said naturalized citizens know and understand that pledging loyalty to the United States is a deeper commitment than "simply changing your voter or party registration."

"What you're doing at a ceremony is pledging your loyalty to the United States, that you would give service to the United States as any citizen would," he said. ''It's one of those few times in American life where we actually have the opportunity to talk about our political commitment to the nation."

California had the highest number of naturalizing citizens last year at 158,850, followed by Florida at 100,890 and New York at 93,584.

Shirin Keshvardoost

Minutes away from taking her oath of citizenship at last week's naturalization ceremonies in Anaheim, Shirin Keshvardoost, 39, of Rancho Santa Margarita, would never forget the sacrifices that brought her to that moment. She sat beaming in the front row reserved for military families with her children, Atousa, 12, and Armin, 9. Sitting beside her was her husband Ali, 42, who wore a small Purple Heart pin over his chest, signifying the military honor he received for his near-fatal injury.

"I'm so proud of my husband being here and in the military," she said. "I love this country. I want to be here just to be a person that they can count on. Even though we are not from this country, we are a part of this country. We want to devote our lives to this country."

Shirin Keshvardoost said her husband, a former U.S. Army military intelligence linguist, suffered life-threatening injuries from a roadside improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan in 2011. Ali Keshvardoost gained his citizenship through the U.S. Army, which brought his family to the United States from Iran about nine years ago.

"Most of my bones were broken and I was in a coma for two weeks." Ali Keshvardoost said, "My mom, a nurse practitioner ...was told I could not make it because I was almost dead. I had several major surgeries to my legs, my hips and my clavicle. Everything was broken, neck to toe." He was hospitalized in San Diego for about one year. Shirin would visit him weekly, moving from Irvine to Rancho Santa Margarita last year to make the commute easier.

Despite the experience, Shirin Keshvardoost said life for women in the United States is happier than in Iran, which has strict limitations on women's clothing choices and ideas, she said. "It's because of the government," Shirin explained. "Whatever they want, you have to be."

She then listed the benefits of becoming an American citizen, "I can think free. I can speak free, and I can be myself here." Shirin Keshvardoost, a kindergarten after-school program teacher in Irvine, plans to attend Saddleback College to further her education now that she is naturalized.

"I hope we could live like this, happy like this, forever," she said. "As long as my kids are getting supported in this country, I'm happy."

Karam Gabra

After working for about 20 years as a United States Embassy security supervisor in his hometown, Cairo, Egypt, Fullerton resident Karam Gabra, 65, moved to San Francisco when he was granted permanent resident status in 2007.

"I came here because I would like my family with me," Gabra said. "My son is over 21. They would not allow him to come with me. Now, I have to apply for him to come here. He is a dentist and the work in Egypt is not very good. Here, living is much better."

Gabra and his family are Coptic Christian. He said conflicts between Egypt's Muslim majority and Christian minority mean, "Christian people do not get good jobs, good money or a good atmosphere for work." He moved to Los Angeles in 2008, and settled in Fullerton once he secured a job as a cashier at an Arco gas station in Bellflower.

Gabra did not have family or friends with him at his naturalization ceremony in Anaheim last week, but excitedly took photos of his certificate of naturalization next to his souvenir American flag. He had on a patriotic tie bearing an eagle.

"This is a very nice country," Gabra said. "(There is) freedom. You can do everything here under the law and under the constitution."

He plans to visit Egypt regularly until he can get his wife and son to the United States. He leaves on vacation to visit them in about three months.

Sherly Ortiz

Sherly Ortiz, 37, of Fullerton arrived in the United States in 1990 at 14 years old to attend the wedding of her sister, Denise Serna, now 47, in Anaheim.

"She didn't want to get married by herself so she brought my mom and me over here, and we ended up staying here," said the Livingston, Guatemala, native. "Our visas were definitely, totally overdue."

After Serna married and became a U.S. citizen, she petitioned for Ortiz and their mother that same year. Ortiz entered high school in Anaheim while she waited for her application to process, though she would not have permanent resident status for more than 18 years.

Ortiz did not attend college and had limited job choices after high school. Yet, she said her life in the United States was better than that in Guatemala, which she described as "living in poverty, but happy." "The only jobs you could find there would be, maybe, fishing," Ortiz said of her tourism-driven hometown.

Once married, the stay-at-home mother and her husband, a contractor, constantly worried about getting deported and leaving four children behind. "It's a constant fear of 'what if' and we lived in that fear for years," she said. She also regrets not being able to visit Guatemala for family emergencies.

In 2008, the couple received permanent resident status, and waited another five years before naturalizing. Ortiz gave Serna a long hug last week once her certificate of naturalization was in her hands. "She was looking forward to this day for so long," Ortiz said.

Ortiz said she and her family are planning vacations to Guatemala and Mexico, and eventually want to buy a house. She looks forward to voting in future elections to "make a new history" for her home country.

Michelle Carter

South Africa native Michelle Carter, 44, hugged her former students dressed proudly in red, white and blue accessories. The hairdresser-turned-mentorleft her family in her hometown, Johannesburg, in 1997 to teach her craft in Irvine on a temporary 18-month visa.

Carter said that women of her generation were considered second-class citizens. She left South Africa a few years after it became a democracy. "You either belonged to your dad or your husband," she said. She also described her home country as "tumultuous" for its crime, noting that she was mugged twice while she lived there.

Once her temporary visa expired, Carter applied for a type of visa normally granted to scholars or artists, then applied for permanent resident status. But her application was put on hold for years after the attacks of September 11 slowed the path of many immigrants seeking citizenship. After waiting for more than a decade to naturalize, Carter will open in September her new business, Alkali Salon, near South Coast Plaza. She lives in Santa Ana.

"I really feel like I'm living the American dream," Carter said. "It's just this incredible freedom to have the opportunity to be whatever you can be and whatever you want to be. It's all there. You can do it if you work hard and you want it. It's there for you in this country."

Carter said the idea of opening her own business as "an immigrant woman entrepreneur" still astounds her.